


Love Conquers All

by MiaSif



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:20:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaSif/pseuds/MiaSif
Summary: It's been five years since the Apocalypse. Although the road was hard and it's been long, Sam and Dean have finally gotten to the point where they are somewhat functional after having lost Castiel, not to mention countless others during it. There aren't any archangels left and no one knows whether God is ever going to come back.Sam and Dean still hunt but it's no longer the end all, be all that hunting used to be for them. They feel like they've lost enough for this world and so once a year they go and spend a vacation week somewhere. Sometimes it's in a cabin in Jackson, Wyoming, sometimes it's San Francisco. This time it's in Fort Worth, TX.They almost don't take the vacation because things have begun to get stirred up again but after a talk between them, the brothers decide that if the world is going to end (yet again), one week won't make a difference.





	1. Hello Dean/Hiya Sammitch

"Excuse me but...do I know you?"

Sam's head snapped up at the somewhat familiar voice and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Gabriel?!" 

The man, er, angel, looked behind him and then, finding no one, straightened back and pointed at himself. "Me? Am I Gabriel?" 

Sam felt his blood start boiling in irritation. "Cut it the fuck out, Gabriel. Just because you did us a solid doesn't mean shit when you apparently ran away afterwards. Do you even know that we lost Cas? Do you know, you know what? No, I'm not doing this with you. You obviously didn't and don't care. Just go away before Dean comes back." 

Gabriel stood there and watched him apprehensively before he opened his mouth again. He almost walked away, he didn't like confrontation, but something about this man made him think that he would know answers that he needed. He had to stay. 

"Sam?" 

"What?" both men turned to look at Dean who was reaching them. 

"GABRIEL?!" Dean exclaimed, anger quickly filling his features. Gabriel took a step back and Sam watched, confused as he saw fear etched across the archangels face. What the hell was going on?

Dean's stride became wider and he reached Gabriel and punched him. 

Gabriel let out a squeak and fell to the floor, blood gushing from his now broken nose. 

Something instinctively drove Sam out of his chair and he put himself between Dean and Gabriel. "Dean, stop!" Anger and rage were rampant on his brother's face as he glared at him. "Stop, Dean. I think, I think something's wrong with him." "Something is wrong with him, the stupid son of a bitch, left us. Cas wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for him!" Dean lunged forward but Sam's strong hand held him in place, away from Gabriel. "No, Dean. Something is really wrong with him. He didn't know his name was Gabriel." 

Dean stilled. "What?" 

"That's what I'm trying to explain Dean. He came up and asked me if I knew him!" Sam whispered furiously, trying to ignore what he knew were sobs coming from Gabriel who was still on the floor. With a final tug of warning on his brother's arm, Sam turned and looked at Gabriel, who was still bleeding as he hunched over, his small shoulders quaking as he cried. It tugged at Sam's heart and without another thought he crouched down. "Hey, Gabe? It's ok. We're sorry you got scared. Tilt your head back for me, let me see if I can stop that." Sam gently tucked two fingers under Gabriel's chin and tilted his head back while he leaned up a little to grab a cloth napkin that was on the table. The cloth napkin had surprised him, he'd never seen actual napkins in a bar before but maybe it was a Texas thing. 

He brought the napkin down and took in Gabriel's tear stained face and tried to ignore the clenching his heart did at seeing Gabriel like this. He was an archangel for Chuck's sake. He shouldn't look like this! Gabriel was looking at him with fearful eyes so Sam spoke quietly. "I'm going to apply some pressure to your nose ok? It's going to hurt a little but we have to stop the blood, ok, Gabe?" The other man just sniffled and gave a slight nod as Sam moved his hand closer. "What have you been calling yourself anyway?" 

"Tham." "What?" The man gently pushed his hand away and repeated himself. "Sam." Sam heard a snort behind him but ignored Dean to ensure he'd heard correctly. "You've been calling yourself by my- you've been calling yourself Sam?" The man nodded. "Why?" The man shrugged. "When I arrived here I didn't know who I was. I have no memory of anything beyond the past four years. The name that came to mind was Sam, so I've been using that. I didn't know my name was Gabe or Gabriel. It fits though. I feel like a Gabriel." 

"Why did you come up to me, Gabriel?" Sam asked after a minute had passed and he saw the blood was flowing much more diminutively now. "I don't know. I just felt like I knew you somehow. I guess I was right."

"Wait. Did you say his name was Dean?" Sam nodded and Gabriel looked at Dean with wide eyes. "When I-when I got here, I didn't get here alone." He said in a rush, almost tripping over his words in an effort to get them out. "I mean I did but then I found someone that someone else told me about and he doesn't have any memory either. He calls himself Dean." Sam watched the blood drain from Dean's face and he had to stand and catch Dean as he fainted. 

________

Two minutes later, he had Dean breathing into a bag, hyperventilating as Gabriel called "Dean" and told him to get his ass over to the bar. After Dean had woken up a quick conversation had ensued where Dean's breath had hitched when Gabriel had nodded that yes, "Dean" did indeed have black hair and blue eyes. Everything happened quickly after that. Dean started hyperventilating when Gabriel had called his "roommate" and Sam and Dean had heard Cas's voice over the phone. 

"I take it y'all know him too?" Gabriel asked Sam. Sam nodded. "That's Cas. Castiel. He used to be Dean's best friend." "Was I your best friend?" Gabriel's head tilted, trying to understand why he had chosen the taller's man name for himself. A snort escaped Sam before he could stop it. "No. Not exactly." He didn't elaborate and Gabriel looked at him with some sadness on his face. 

Sam took the time that it took Cas to get there to study the small man in front of him. He always felt bad that the archangel had to die. But apparently had been brought back not too long after. And now, after four years, was being reunited with them. Why? Sam didn't believe in coincidences, he knew that if the archangel and the seraph had been placed in their paths again it was because something big was afoot and, hell, God probably had a hand in this. Which meant two things: one, that their grace had to be out there, otherwise what good would they do? and two: they apparently belonged to Sam and Dean, otherwise why would their instincts have had them choice their names out of all names out there? "Sam" he almost understood, it was a common name, but "Dean"? No, if anything, this meant that God had a sense of humor and had decided that Cas belonged with Dean and Gabriel with him. But why? Why Gabriel? He had tortured Sam over and over again and even by the time he died for them by standing up to Lucifer, Sam still hadn't been sure he'd forgiven him. 

And yet, he couldn't deny that there was something about Gabriel that called to him. He was special. Even more than just because he was an archangel. Even now, as a seemingly human, his eyes were a gold/whiskey color not found in nature, his hair a beautiful gold/brass/copper color that looked so silky, Sam had to force himself not to run a hand through. Yes, Gabriel had tortured him but if it was God that had blessed what was glaringly a union of sorts, then Sam trusted it.


	2. Only God Knows Why- Kid Rock

Dean's breath had calmed down somewhat but when Cas entered the bar they were sitting in, "Whiskey Business", he felt like passing out all over again. It was Cas. Wearing tight jeans that accentuated his thick thighs and a Metallica sleeveless shirt that showed off his muscular arms and tattoos. Cas's hair was also different. It was still a mess but now it was long on the top and shaved on the sides. He also sported multiple piercings. He no longer looked like the holy tax accountant that he used to resemble but luckily he also didn't look like the end-verse Cas that Dean had to see thanks to the dick that Zach had been. In fact, he looked good. Really good. 

He sauntered up to them and tossed a "what's up, bro?" at Gabriel that had both brother's glancing at each other in shock. What the hell? 

Gabriel caught their look but misinterpreted it. He didn't know they were shocked at his laid back vernacular. He thought it was the "bro" that had thrown them off and he quickly explained, "We're not really brothers but since neither of us remember anything past the four years we eventually moved in together and have been roommates every since." 

"But you guys are"- Sam started, only to be cut off by Dean. "No, Sammy, not now. We need to talk somewhere private." 

"You guys are more than welcome to come back to our place. Especially since y'all seem to know us and well, we don't even know us." Cas's voice broke in, deep and rumbly as ever. Dean looked at him and felt himself go red when he saw Cas wink at him and follow it up with, "What do you say, good-lookin?" 

Beside him Sam snorted and Dean side-eyed him. "Shut up, Sammy." Before quickly nodding at Cas who arched a brow at him, making him blush even harder as he quickly stood, mind reeling, and went to pay their tab. 

As Dean walked up to the bar, presumably to tab out, Sam ran his eyes over Gabriel's body. Seeing Cas and how he was clearly a badass now, completely different from the stoic angel they once knew made him want to pay attention to Gabriel and see how else he was different. He spotted some minor differences as he held his hand out to Gabriel and helped him rise up off the floor. Gabriel was wearing skinny jeans that accentuated his shapely small legs. They stopped right at his ankles, frayed at the bottom, and had a ripped knee. They looked like girl pants but Gabriel easily pulled them off. He wore them with white Chucks and a simple white tee with one pocket across a shapely body that looked excellent against the light blue wash of his jeans. Jeggings, thought Sam. He remembered seeing the word somewhere and could feel that's what they were. Sam's eyes traveled up as he took in Gabriel's small but muscular body and he blurted out, "Do you work out?" before he could stop himself. 

Gabriel hiccuped but nodded. "Not as much as Mr. Ripped over here but enough so that I can eat all the sweets I want. When I first got here I had something of a pudge. I didn't like it so I took up running and now I even run some marathons. Did I always do that? No, right? Otherwise I wouldn't have had a pudge." He looked at Sam in askance. Sam started to shake his head but then stopped. "In actuality, I'm not sure. I didn't know you that well. We just kinda, crossed paths if you will, a few times."

Dean was back by then and the four of them walked out of the bar and got into both cars, the Impala and an old Mercedes two door that Cas had rolled up in. "Hold on," Cas muttered before walking over to his car and saying "Get out." to whomever was inside. 

The passenger door opened and out stepped a replica of Dean that had both brothers letting out another startled breath. Cas heard and turned to look at Dean before announcing "Looks like I have a type." before turning back to take pseudo Dean who had come around the car in a deep kiss, pushing him up against the car. Gabriel laughed before announcing that they should see what his type was. Castiel broke away and responded to his brother, "He's here too. He was waiting for you at the apartment. I brought them both with me." All five men turned to where someone was struggling to get out of the backseat of the two door car. "Son of a bitch," they heard him mutter before a head peeked out and Sam saw what could have been his doppelgänger. Sam himself was wearing loose jeans, a black t and a red and blue flannel over it, whereas this guy was dressed in skinny black jeans, a black t and a black baseball jacket over it, black Chucks at his feet. His hair was long like Sam's but that too was dyed, or maybe it was just like that, black. His eyes, however, were also green. Over all it was a striking combination. He finally made it out and came and stood in front of Sam. "You look like me. Just older. How old are you, man?" "32" stated Sam. The man blinked. "So am I. You look older. Not your face but your eyes, I think." Sam could only nod. After everything they had been through, that certainly made sense. He was also now understanding what kind of union it look like God was trying to bring together. Too bad he didn't take into account that Sam was straight. Mostly anyway, with some minor experimenting he'd done before Jess back at Stanford. But that didn't count. Who didn't experiment during college? Besides, he didn't like Gabriel. Not like that. Now matter how good he looked in jeggings, (Sam had walked behind Gabriel when they exited the bar. Gabriel looked damn good). 

Sam sighed. He was fucked. 

"Look, man, can you back up a bit?" Dean was talking to his own would be twin. Cas stepped towards him and put an arm around him, "Don't worry Dean, baby, I won't let Milo do a damn thing to you." Milo looked at Dean, "Your name is Dean too?" Dean made an exasperated sound and ignored Milo altogether, opting to look at Sam instead. "We need to get going." 

Cas spoke up again, "Milo? Rigo? Would you guys be ok to catch an Uber back to your own homes? These fine ass gentlemen supposedly know us and are going to talk to us."  
"No orgies?" Milo asked, narrowing his eyes as Cas. Cas laughed. "Not this time. Promise." 

Something clenched inside of Dean. This might not be end-verse Cas but he might as well damn be. Dean had appreciated Cas, his friend Cas for everything he had done for Dean and Sam. He left his home, his family, behind for them and then he died, killed by Lucifer himself and Dean had almost broken. He'd fallen apart and it took him a long time (and a ton of alcohol ) before he felt somewhat normal. He heart was ecstatic at seeing him again but who was he really seeing? Who was this person standing in front of him, outside of the trench coat he'd worn everywhere, the loose clothing he'd never changed, the bedhead he walked around with, nary a care in the world? Where was his Angel of The Lord?

Rigo cleared his throat and in a move that surprised Sam, picked up Gabriel, who immediately wrapped his legs around him and they had a quick make out session before Gabriel pushed back and said, "get off, you oaf" in a teasing lilt. 

Sam couldn't explain why every instinct inside of him was screaming MINE.


	3. Last Man Standing- Jon Bon Jovi

Neither Dean nor Sam said a single word on the way to Cas and Gabe's apartment, both of them were too stunned to speak. Cas was calling himself Dean, Gabriel was calling himself Sam, they were with people that looked like Dean and Sam and they didn't look like the Cas and Gabe that Dean and Sam had known. What the fuck was going on? Sam's eyes roved over to see his brother with his jaw clenched and white knuckling the steering wheel. Sam wanted to say something but he knew Dean didn't want to hear it. As it was, he was hanging by a thread and he was going to need that to remain calm as they talked to Cas and Gabe. Dean didn't do well with change and although Sam had seen the look of appreciation cross Dean's face when he got a gander of the new and improved Cas, Sam also knew that it had disrupted Dean's psyche to be hit on by said new and improved Cas, so yeah, he knew better than to try to give Dean a bone right then. He'd get his head and hand bitten off. 

Less than fifteen minutes later had them pulling up behind Cas at a house. Sam was a little surprised. He'd assumed they lived in an apartment but nope, it was definitely a house. It was older and it looked like it needed some work but overall not bad. It had a brick walkup up to the entry door, a white patio set gracing the large porch, the trimming was a baby blue whilst the rest of the house was white. The house itself was small, less than a thousand square feet by Sam's estimate but it was perfect for two brothers, although they didn't know that yet. Sam followed Dean who followed Gabe who followed Cas in. The living room was small and just by standing in it the four men barely had no room to move. Before he thought about what he was saying, Dean was blurting out, "You had an orgy HERE?" as he looked around the small space doubtfully. Cas laughed, deep and gruff. "No, man. We were at the Omni." "What's the Omni?" "Hotel in downtown. Why do you ask? Wanna join the next one?" Cas asked Dean with what was almost a lascivious look on his face. Dean grimaced. The idea held appeal but this was Cas, dammit, not some rando he'd met at the bar. Besides, he wasn't interested in an orgy, just Cas. 

The kitchen was bigger, probably because the space was both a kitchen and a dining room. There was a large table on one side of it that seated eight. "You guys host large parties or something?" Sam asked Gabe whom he'd followed in deeper into the house to get away from Dean and Cas's conversation. Gabriel nodded. "We do, actually. I like baking. Our friends like to come over and eat them. Sometimes I make edibles too. I have brownies right now. You want one?" He asked Sam, a mischievous look on his face. Sam felt like he was being tested. A part of him wanted to "pass" but not enough to eat a fucking weed brownie while on the job. Regretfully he shook his head. "Aw, don't tell me you're one of those Don't California My Texas assholes." Sam put his hands in his pockets. He was definitely not getting into a political debate, especially when he didn't even live in Texas. They were on vacation for Christ's sake. Of course, Sam's mind raced as he wondered if Gabe's brain retrained all the knowledge he'd had as an archangel. He couldn't help it, he had to ask, "I take it you're not one of those that wants to keep Texas a red state? No 'voting under God' for you?" Gabriel snorted. "I don't remember whether I was a believer or not but I get the feeling that while God is real he's long since checked out by now." That made a pang hit Sam's heart. Gabriel had no idea just how on the money he was. Perhaps he didn't understand why he felt the way he did but clearly his subconscious knew him and it had stayed with him. He was about to comfort Gabriel when Dean and Cas, apparently done with their orgy conversation joined them and Dean lifted the cake pan that was in the middle of the table. It wasn't cake. It was brownies. Before he could stop him, Dean grabbed two and stuffed them into his mouth. 

When Sam looked back at Gabriel he just smirked. 

"Uh, Dean?" "Yeah, Sammy?" "Those are edibles." For a second it looked like Dean was going to spit them out but to Sam's surprise he shrugged and swallowed. "Don't look at me like that Sammy. You should eat some yourself. You know we're about to fuckin need them." Sam almost took him up on his offer before sighing. Someone had to drive them back to the B&B. Especially when Dean asked Gabriel for a beer. "Yo, you guys have any beer?" "Anything for you, cherie." Castiel had answered, getting up from the bench he'd sat at, running his hand across Dean's neck and winking back at him as he purposely sashayed to the refrigerator. Sam watched, with interest, as his brother turned beet red. Interesting development, he thought, accepting the beer that Cas handed him. Finally everyone was seated, drink in hand and Gabriel spoke up. "Please, for the love of everything unholy, please tell us who we are." 

"You're angels" Dean blurted out. He pointed at Gabriel, "You're an archangel and you," pointing at Cas, "are a Seraph. Your names are Gabriel and Castiel. Gabriel died when he went up against Lucifer during the Apocalypse, five fucking years ago and Cas, Lucifer killed you when you molotov'd Michael, y'alls oldest brother." 

"Seriously, Dean?" Sam practically shouted as he saw how speechless and pale Cas and Gabriel had gotten. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you tell them like that?" Dean just smirked at him. "Good brownie, Gabe." He said, tipping his beer towards Gabriel. Sam sighed in irritation as he pushed his hand through his hair. 

"Look guys, what he means-" "Stop." It was Gabriel that whispered it. "We believe him." "What?" asked Sam, surprised as get all. "You do?" Both Gabe and Cas nodded miserably. Cas spoke up then. "We get these dreams. Dreams that feel more like memories, like our brains are replaying something but I've never been able to see faces. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of green eyes. Gabriel always sees someone tall. I think-I think that's why everyone we've ever been with looked like ya'll. I think we were channeling ya'll and just didn't know it. But we don't just dream of ya'll. We dream of things that should be impossible. Of wings, lances, swords, blades, bloody bloody wars. We both do. So," Cas finally turned to look at Gabriel. "We are brothers. Tell us. Do we like each other?" 

Both Sam and Dean stayed silent. Neither knowing how to answer and the only sound to fill the room were Gabe's subsequent sobs.


	4. Chapter 4

Neither Winchester was the type for chick flick moments but listening to Gabriel cry, something the former trickster never would have done had Sam running a hand through his hair and releasing a breath. He chanced a glance at Dean only to find him pointedly looking at his beer and he sighed. Looked like it would be up to him to do the honors. 

"Look." He started. He stopped and then started again. This was going to be hard. He was trying to find a way to give it to them gently but there was no way to do it. Better to just rip off the band-aid. "Here's the thing. Gabriel, back when you were in heaven, from what you've told us, you were happy. Once, you mentioned that you'd taught Cas here how to fly. But then your brothers, y'alls brothers, Michael, the eldest, and Lucifer, the second born started fighting and you couldn't take it so you left heaven and entered a witness protection program. I'm not entirely sure what that entailed, that's simply what you told us. You became Loki, a pagan god." Here Sam stopped to take a sip of his beer. Gabriel was staring at him, mouth agape before straightening and asking, "is that even allowed?" Sam shrugged in response. "We have no idea. We didn't know you that well. The extent of our knowledge of you is based on approximately four, or maybe five, times we met you. Loki, as you know, well, I don't know if you know, but he was the trickster. You played awful tricks on me and Dean. You turned me into a car, you gave me herpes, you kneed me in the balls, you killed Dean in front of me over a hundred times BUT", Sam quickly went on saying, seeing the tears filling Gabriel's eyes again, "When the Apocalypse came, you also died for us. You got stabbed by Lucifer, your brother." 

"Where do I come in?" asked Cas. Finally Dean spoke up, apparently willing to take over when it came to explaining things to Cas. "We're not sure about how close y'all were. We only know what Gabriel told us, which as Sam said, included him telling us he taught you how to fly although the way he went about it was a dick move." "How?" Cas asked. "He blasted you out of a catapult when you were just a fledgling." Dean said bluntly, taking some sort of perverse satisfaction at seeing Cas turn a narrow eyed look Gabriel's way. 

"And then? How did we meet?" Cas asked, turning back to Dean. "Sammy here was killed. I made a deal with a demon to get him back. The deal was Sam came back and after a year, I'd go to hell. I was there for four months, but in hell each month counts for a decade, so I was there for forty years. You saved me. Your first words to me were "I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition." Cas grimaced. "I said it like that? I sound dull." A snort laughed escaped Dean. "You were. I told you more than once to get the stick out of your ass and relax. I used to say you dressed like a holy tax accountant because you were perpetually in blue slacks, a white dress shirt, a tie and a goddamn trench coat. You wore that coat regardless of the weather, because as an angel, you're not affected by the weather, so when we took you with us on FBI interviews you would get some weird ass looks. But it worked for you, you know? And now, now you're different. I don't know who you are. I don't know why you seem to remember me. Hell, I definitely didn't know you were gay. No wonder you freaked when I tried to help you lose your virginity by taking you to a brothel. You called it a Den of Iniquity." Dean laughed again, remembering the look on Cas's face. 

"So we had powers?" Gabriel asked, looking at Sam. Sam snorted. "You could do anything you wanted with a mere thought. By human standards Cas could too but you. You were an archangel. Cas once called you the most powerful weapons heaven had to offer." "Weapon? I don't like any sort of confrontation." That got another smile out of Sam. "We know. That's why you left home to begin with." "So, what made me want to fight Lucifer?" "The fact that Dean and I caught on to the fact that you weren't a trickster. A trickster is killed by a piece of wood with the blood of a victim. We tried to kill you multiple times and it didn't take. It was Cas that pointed out that if you weren't dying, you probably weren't a trickster. That gave Dean the idea that maybe you were an angel too. I trapped you and when you tried to laugh it off Dean challenged you to walk out of the holy fire. If you had been anything but an angel you would have been able to but alas you weren't able to and you revealed yourself. I asked you which one you were and you said 'Gabriel. They call me Gabriel.' Dean called you a coward for not facing your family and that seemed to do the trick because you did. You saved us and Kali, the Hindu goddess." Sam stopped there seeing that Gabriel looked like he was about to pass out. 

Cas spoke up again. "So it's all true then? God is real? And the devil is my brother? Or is it just his brother? How does that work?" Dean took over again, starting off by giving a slight shrug. "We don't know too much. You were the closest angel to us but you weren't very open about yourself. You mostly spent your time reading my goddamn thoughts and being in my personal bubble." Cas smirked. "Have you seen yourself? I was probably in love with you." Dean choked on his beer but then he straightened and gave Cas a long glance before nodding. "Yeah, probably. I never did anything because you were a goddamn angel. I already knew I was going to hell when I died again. I wasn't going to drag you down with me." That made Sam let out a sharp gasp. His brother had never told him that. Before he could address it however, Cas spoke again, "wait, I could read thoughts?" "Could I read them too?" Gabe asked. Sam nodded. "All angels can read thoughts. Ya'll could go back in time although it took a lot out of you, Cas. You have a ton more power, Gabe so it probably wouldn't have been more than a mere thought to you. You could also change your shape, I don't know if you could do that Cas. Gabe you could snap food or anything you wanted it with a mere snap of your fingers. Cas could too, I think, but he called that abuse of his grace."

"Why did I have more power? I'm kinda small." Sam smirked. "Yes, you are but boy do you pack a punch. You could probably destroy half if not all the world in a heartbeat. Cas once told us that his true form was the size of the Chrysler building. You told us you were ten times that." Both brothers were quiet now, eyes wide as they took it all in. Finally Gabe breathed out and asked, "and we had wings?" Sam nodded. "You had six, Cas had two. Probably because you're an archangel." 

"So why were we brought back? And thank y'all for saving the world from the Apocalypse." Gabe shot Sam a genuine smile. Sam couldn't help but smile back but then it sorta melted and he let out a regretful sigh. "Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if we found y'all that means it's for a reason. Not only that but it means that your graces must be somewhere here on earth. Finding them and giving them back to y'all would bring all the powers back and probably the memories as your grace would automatically heal anything it sensed was wrong. As for who brought you back, I'm guessing it was your dad." 

"But why now?" Cas asked. "What's happening that we might be needed?" 

"It's your third brother, Gabe. Wait, let me explain that bit a little bit. even though all angels are siblings, from what we learned about you guys, the four archangels were considered brothers while their relationships with the rest were considered...something akin to little brothers. The relationships aren't as close. Gabriel, your brothers were Michael, Lucifer and Raphael. You called Cas your little bro but I don't think you considered him a brother the way you did the others, if that makes any sense." Gabriel shot Cas an apologetic look. "I'm sorry bro." Cas shrugged it off. "Eh, it's not like I remember it. It's no skin off my back. Besides you're my bro now unless you think that'll change once we get our powers back." Gabe shook his head emphatically. "No. Never." 

Dean who had quietly been drinking his beer and acquiring others spoke up then, "I take it y'all are close now?" Both Cas and Gabe nodded. "We got close because of our circumstance but even after we got to know one another as well as we could we discovered we worked quite well together. Dean has loosened up a lot since I first met him and my instinct was to prank all the rude people and he got me to calm down some." Dean and Sam exchanged glances before Dean drawled, "Well, who knew the Trickster could be trained?" Gabe's eyes widened. "Wait, Trickster? As in I did tricks on people?" Dean nodded and placed his beer down. "Yeah you could say that. You were an asshole." "Dean". Sam spoke sharply. He turned to Gabriel. "Look, you could be a bit rough but in your defense you were Gabriel, the Messenger of God and the Archangel of Justice, meaning that you meted out justice. That, combined, with Loki the Trickster, well, it could have been a lot worse." He stopped there, throwing a final glare at his brother. 

"Well, Sam's not like that now. He's one of the nicest people I know." Cas interjected, throwing his own glare in Dean's direction. "Anyways, Sam, damn this is going to get hard, please continue to explain why we are going to be needed again." Sam nodded. "Well, as I was saying, Raphael, the third archangel, has decided that he wants to restart the apocalypse so he's been trying to find the door to purgatory to see if Michael is there but Michael isn't there. I dragged him down with Lucifer during the Apocalypse. We don't know how Raphael doesn't know that but basically heaven is in the middle of a civil war right now. We don't want the humans getting in the middle of it again. That's what we were working on when our vacation time came up."

"So, ya'll decided to take a vacation during the second apocalypse?" Gabe asked. He didn't sound judgmental, merely curious. Sam nodded, "our lives have been a constant train of shit. For the past three years we've decided that anything that's going to happen will whether we're there or not so now we take a break once a year. We almost didn't this year but I'm glad we did otherwise we wouldn't have found y'all. Unless, of course, it was your dad that brought us here in which case I would like to remind him that we PREFER FREE WILL." Sam ended loudly as though to ensure God heard his little rant. Sam opened his eyes and looked at Gabe who held a faint smirk on his face. "Does that work?" Sam sighed, suddenly exhausted. "Sometimes. He's around. He's proven that much. He just doesn't like to get involved much. Even when it's y'all, his own damn children, that are the causers of mayhem and destruction. " "For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Gabe spoke softly. 

Sam and Gabe looked at each other for a minute only to be interrupted by Cas. "Are y'all going to continue eye fucking? Because that shit is gross." Dean spewed out his beer as he simultaneously choked on it. Cas patted his back. "You choke on the smallest things Dean. You'd never be able to handle something bigger. Bummer." At that Dean turned bright red and it was Sam and Gabriel's turn to laugh. A tear leaked out of Sam's eyes and he sent a silent thank you to a God that rarely listened. He was grateful. Beyond grateful.


	5. Chapter 5

"So wait," said Gabe, bringing their conversation back on track, "You said that you dragged Michael down along with Lucifer. Dragged him down where?"

Sam involuntarily flinched. It had been five years but it didn't make his time spent in hell any easier to talk about. Still, something about how innocent Gabe was now made it a little easier. 

"Before you went into your final battle with Lucifer you gave us a DVD-" "You gave us a fucking porno." Interjected Dean. Sam sighed, "Yes, you gave us a porno BUT before the, uh, action actually started, you gave us what we needed to lock him back up. It required us getting the rings that each of the horsemen wear." "Wait, THE horsemen?" Cas asked, "As in Famine, Pestilence, Death and War?" "Yes," Sam nodded. "Those. So we got them and-" "How?" This time it was Gabe interrupting. "By cutting the rings off their hands, although not Death's. Death just gave it to me. Lent it to me and then I had to give it back." Dean answered. 

"Anyway, once we had them, Death told Dean how to use them, before you ask, it's with an incantation or chant if you will. Still, in order to retrap Lucifer, I had to say yes to him and-" "Say yes. What does that mean?" Sam glanced at his brother. At this rate they were going to be there all night. "It's ok, we'll shut up now." Gabe spoke up softly, sensing his irritation. Sam's head snapped back. "No. No, Gabe. It's ok. Ok, quick background lesson, according to you our bloodlines had been planned since the beginning of existence. It was always going to come down to Dean and I. Dean was Michael's vessel and I was to be Lucifer's. What that means is that angel's can possess humans but only with consent so it's unlike demons or spirits who just go in without getting permission. Dean and I's parents were destined to be together and when they didn't much like each other a cupid was sent to make things right. Dean and I were meant to be born and be the perfect vessel's for your brother's. Using our body's, Michael and Lucifer were going to fight, effectively leveling out practically the whole world and Dean was going to kill me, or Michael was going to beat Lucifer, whichever way you want to look at it. They just didn't take one thing into consideration."

Here, Sam stopped and grinned at his brother before facing the angels. "Damn right, Sammy." Said Dean, his smile almost as manic as Sam's own. 

"What was that?" Cas asked. 

"That Dean would never kill me nor I him. Never. We flipped destiny the bird and we did it with your help Cas. We called ourselves Team FreeWill. We were awesome. We've missed you, man." 

"So, then what happened?" asked Gabriel. 

Sam sighed and took another swig before answering. "Well, the only way to get Lucifer back in his cage was to say yes. So I did, I took back control of my body and threw us into the cage. This was where you died Cas. I didn't gain control back right away. No, I walked onto that cemetery and Michael was there wearing our younger brother, Adam. Dean wanted to speak to me, Sam, and Cas Molotov'd Michael. Lucifer didn't approve and he snapped his fingers and exploded you. I started beating Dean and somewhere along the way I realized who I was hitting and that's when I gained back control. I threw the horsemen rings on the ground, said the incantation, and was in the middle of falling into it when Michael showed back up and tried to hold on to me so that we could fight. Instead I grabbed him and dragged him down with me. From there it got pretty weird. Dean went and tried to live a normal life, got out of hunting for a while but me, I got out of hell that same night although we've never found out who it was that got me out. They left one crucial piece behind though." Sam stopped again to take a swig of his now lukewarm beer. 

"You want another?" Gabe asked him and Dean, getting up. "Sure, thank you, short-stack." Dean replied easily. Gabriel turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Height jokes?" Dean put up a placating hand. "I used to call you that and it never bothered you because as you would say, hellllo, archangel. And I'm just a mud monkey." "A what?!" asked Castiel. "When we first met angels they used to call us apes or mud monkeys." Dean responded. Gabriel huffed. "Well, that's just rude." He said, placing the beers in the middle of the table. Dean shrugged, "True. Cas here killed him. I killed the other asshole."

"Have we killed a lot of people?" asked Castiel, hilted tilted in a way reminiscent of who he used to be. Dean shook his head. "People, no. Angels and demons, yes." 

"So then what happened, Sammy? What'd they leave behind?" asked Gabriel settling back into his chair. 

"My soul. They left behind my soul. I walked around soulless for year before I came into Dean's town because there was a monster behind him. Later, even though I didn't want it back, Dean made a deal with Death to get it back. But by then my soul had been trapped in hell for almost a year and a half and again, every month here is a decade there. My soul was torn to pieces. Luckily Death put up a wall to keep those memories hidden otherwise I'd be in a psych ward somewhere trapped in my own mind. A blathering, sniveling savant idiot."

Gabriel sighed. "That's a lot. I don't know if I want my grace back. It sounds like a world that I don't want to get involved in." 

"You're in danger Gabe." Sam said softly. 

"You are, shorty. Normally I'd tell you that you not being an archangel is the best thing that could happen to humanity because I used to not like you but you did die for us and for that I'm willing to let bygones be bygones but you have to know that now that we've been here demons and angels alike will find you. We constantly have them trailing us, still trying to kill us when they get a chance and as it is you don't stand a chance. Why don't we try something different instead? Why don't you guys hang with us this week, watch us train, we'll go to a YMCA or something and spar while y'all watch, go to a shooting range and learn how to shoot and we can teach y'all the basics on how to protect yourselves and each other against demons and angels and witches and-"

And with that the door busted open.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam and Dean stood up immediately, Sam with Ruby's knife and Dean with his gun. Seven men piled in to the small house and Sam instinctively put Gabriel behind him as Dean did the same to Cas. 

Leading the men were Milo and Rigo whose eyes shifted black before they smirked. "The famous Winchester brother's. Imagine our surprise to see you show up just as we were thinking of ways of...re-educating, if you will, the little angels that could to get them to remember."

Dean opened his mouth but Sam beat him to it. 

"We're famous you say?" Dean glanced at him, puzzled but Sam just stared at Milo, whose green eyes were looking back at him. He really does look like Dean, Sam thought. He'd always thought there was something more profound in the bond that Cas and Dean seemed to share. They were the ones usually caught in the throes of intense eye fucking, as Cas had so eloquently put it. 

Sam shook his head as he realized Milo was responding. "..course you are. Who doesn't know of the famous Winchester brother's that let our king out of hell but then threw him back in?"

"But," and here Sam widened his stance, as subtly as he could, knowing his brother would catch his move and ready himself, "if we're so famous you know that we've killed dozens of demons right? I mean, exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus..." and with that Sam and Dean jumped in and started fighting. A couple of times they were flung to and fro but Sam and Dean had plenty of practice with demons and it was getting harder and harder for one of them to get a good grab at the brother's. Finally, there were seven bodies on the ground, 5 dead, 2 unconscious from where the exorcism had taken effect and Sam groaned as Dean put his hand out to lift him up. 

"Gabe!" Sam suddenly remembered. Both brothers snapped their heads towards the kitchen and there, huddled underneath the table were Cas and Gabe. Gabriel had his head tucked into Cas's shoulder, his shoulders and body quaking with fear and tears. Cas was glaring at them or at Dean, rather. 

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Dean looked at him surprised. "Me? Why?" "Because you knew they were going to come. Come and ruin our fucking home and you brought them straight to us. Who fucking does that? Now we're going to lose everything!" 

Dean looked at him coldly. "You're a fucking angel. Once we found your grace you were going to lose everything anyway. This isn't your fucking home, heaven is. Or wherever we are. At least that's the way it used to be. I called, you came. End of story."

To Sam's surprise, Cas dragged his brother out and put him in Sam's arms and Gabriel immediately latched on to him before turning back to Dean. "No, Dean, I'm not your fucking pet. Whether I take the grace back or not is MY motherfucking decision, not yours! I don't come when you call, you son of a bitch. I'm my own fucking person. And if I'm an angel, as you claim, and I'm the one who took you out of hell then don't you think you'd be better off showing me some respect? Otherwise, believe me Dean, when and if I take those powers back I will make your life a living hell, I promise." 

Dean finally had the decency to look abashed. "Look, man-" 

"Look, man, nothing! I don't want to hear it. Clean up our fucking house, leave your number incase we decide to contact you and get the fuck out. You've done enough damage for one day. My brother doesn't like confrontation and look at what you did, you fucking brought it here. Move, Dean. NOW!" 

Sam was glad that his grace wasn't back yet but if looks could kill, Dean would be dead. As it stood, he never knew when to shut his mouth. "Who gives a shit about Gabriel anyway? That guy is a dick."

Cas strode closer to Dean and socked him right on the mouth. "He's my brother, you asshole. If anyone here is a dick, it's you. Now get out and take your bodies with you or I'm calling the FUCKING COPS!" Cas was now shouting at the top of his lungs and Sam watched a trickle of blood leave Dean's bottom lip. Normally he'd step in for his brother but a. he deserved it for talking shit and b. he currently had his arms full of clingy archangel and didn't feel like putting him down. 

It wasn't until Dean through a glare his way and made to leave that Sam quickly deposited said archangel to the side of him, ignoring the whimper that escaped him and moved quickly to block Dean's way. "Move Sam."

"No." 

Dean looked at him surprised. Sam usually did what he said, hell, everyone did what he said. What was happening with the world today?

But his brother crossed his arms, threw him a bitch face and Dean knew he was fucked. 

"Turn your ass around and help Cas with all these fucking bodies while me and Gabriel watch TV. Talk it out amongst yourself and quit shouting. The neighbors are going to call the fucking cops because of both of y'alls idiocy."

Dean turned, docile and properly cowed. He looked at Cas from beneath his lashes and just like that Castiel's anger fled. Instead he winked at Dean and said, "You look good submissive, Dean." Dean narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to retort something and then thought better of it. He was Dean fucking Winchester, ladies man extraordinaire and capable of making his best friend, Castiel, blushed as he had done many times before. He needed to get it together and show Cas who was boss. 

Dean leaned on the frame of the arch that separated the kitchen and the living room, crossed his legs, his arms and raised his eyebrow at Castiel who, in turn, narrowed his own eyes and bit his formidable lip in apprehension of what Dean was going to say or do. Dean started at the bottom and let his gaze become more hooded and heavy lidded as he did the slowest perusal known to man from the bottom of his legs, to his crotch where he spent over a minute biting his lip, licking it, doing it again and letting out a slow exhale before continuing his way up. 

By the time he was done, Cas was a lovely shade of red as he just stood there. "Hey Cas?" Dean asked lazily, pointedly staring at Cas's mouth watching as it turned into a pretty "o" shape. Dean didn't wait for Cas to respond, rather he lifted his gaze to meet Cas's eyes and said, "You look good submissive Cas. And for the record, I don't have a gag reflex."

Cas shook himself and then turned a predatory smile towards Dean. Oh hell yes, the game was so on.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam let out an exhale as he watched his brother turn the tables on Cas. He shook his head as he went to pick up his own angel who still looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack. 

His thought made him momentarily freeze but then he shook it off. It wasn't worth worrying over. This Gabriel was clearly interested in men that looked like him but the chances of that meaning anything to Gabriel once he got powered up again were slim to none. He'd probably snap out of the orbit the second he was able to so all Sam had to do was wait it out. If Chuck truly wasn't playing with their heads or hearts, him getting attached would probably be a bad idea. Unrequited feelings were the worst. Plus, you know, he was straight and all so there was that. 

Mind made up, he went and sat next to Gabriel who was currently sitting on the couch, hunched into himself. "You ok?" Sam asked gingerly, applying the same tone of voice he used on victims and/or their families. Gabriel shook his head as he launched himself towards Sam, practically sitting on him. Sam put on arm around his shoulders and Gabriel just tucked himself in. It didn't escape Sam's notice that he fit perfectly. It was like he'd been made for Sam. 

Then again, the thought was futile considering it was Gabe, not Chuck, who'd chosen his vessel and he'd definitely not done it with Sam in mind so...

"What happened to Milo and Rigo?" Gabriel asked softly. "Why were their eyes black? Were they...?" He trailed off, eyes glassy, like he couldn't believe he'd actually seen it. 

Sam knew he was probably in shock. 

"Yes. It looks like they'd been possessed. I don't know whether or not they were possessed when y'all all got together or if it came after. Did y'all meet them together or separately?" 

Gabriel shook his head as he tilted his head up to look at Sam, eyes wide. "We met them together. We were at the bar and they came up to us. Not to be crude but I think I have a size kink. I tend to go for the tall ones. Dean-I mean Cas- tends to like them with freckles or green eyes. I guess now we understand why. Poor Milo and Rigo. I wonder what their families think happen to them." 

Sam hid his smile at Gabriel's words. Truthfully the ex-angel hadn't looked so much like an angel as he did now, all innocent and docile. It was adorable and he hoped that when Gabriel got his powers back, he'd remember this so that Sam could tease him about it. If he stuck around that is. 

"...and Sam? I don't think I want my powers back. None of what you've told me sounds like fun times. Your world doesn't sound like something I want to be a part of."

Sam looked at him. He just couldn't imagine a world without Gabriel, the archangel in it. He'd already had to do it once and when Gabriel died, Sam felt it. Gabriel was the only "good" archangel. The world needed him. Not just because of Raphael but because of the angel duties he held. The world needed that. But how to best convey that? Sam thought a minute before speaking. 

"When we first met you were posing as a janitor. You flirted with me to try to distract me and when we eventually figured out you were the trickster, that is to say, the one behind all of the mess, we had to kill you. But here's the thing, the thing you didn't tell us until much later. The people who were...affected by your trickery were people that deserved it. You see, as an archangel, you can see people's souls. You can tell whether they are good or bad and as the archangel of justice, it's your literal God given gift to see that those that deserve it see a certain level of justice for their sins. Why you never punished me, I'll never know but maybe you can tell me once you've taken back your mantle. But back to my story, one of the people you killed was this man who was experimenting on animals and doing terrible things to them supposedly for the betterment of science, but really he was just a sadistic bastard who liked inflicting pain on the innocent beings. You fed him to a crocodile in a sewer. Totally cliched but fitted. And you kept one of the little puppies who had gotten his leg cut off. You named him Broozer. He'd doing fine because you set it up so that his water bowl and food bowl replenish themselves and he knows how to clean after himself because as an archangel you speak Esperanto and thus can speak to animals. But he's alone in a pocket universe that only you can get into and truth be told he's probably missing his daddy right about now."

A clatter behind him made Sam turn his head but it was only Dean and Cas arguing about the best ways to get rid of the bodies. Dean was arguing that he'd been doing this his whole life whilst Cas retorted that as they'd told Sam and Dean, he had memories, thank you very much, and as it was that he was millennia older than Dean, Dean should listen to his elders and do things his way to which Dean had responded that he definitely sounded like an old grouch and one who needed to get laid at that. Cas inquired whether Dean was offering. "We'll talk after you get your mojo back, angel." But it wasn't a no, Sam noticed with interest. Their lives were changing. He glanced back down at Gabriel who was struggling to stay awake and he put his arm around him to tuck him in even closer. Gabriel tucked an arm around his waist and laid his head on his chest and Sam relaxed further into the couch. 

There was more that he wanted to say to Gabriel but right now a nap sounded good and there on the couch, with Gabriel in his arms, well he couldn't think of a better way to sleep.


	8. Sometimes There's No Sound To Hide Behind

Sam woke up to the sound of clicking. He peered one eye open and found his brother, Cas standing next to him, a smirk on his face, with his phone out, taking pictures of Sam and Gabriel who was currently cuddled up with him. Sam wished he could say he had no part in it but his limbs, fully entwined with Gabriel's, spoke otherwise. 

"I'm going to get you back for this, you know. It'll be the impala. You won't even see it coming."

"Try it bitch. It'll be the last thing you do, messing with my baby."

"Fuck you, jerk. All y'all done?"

Cas nodded. "Dean and I burned them in a field not far from here. It's deserted there. We built a pyre and lit it up. It was so cool." Sam huffed a laugh. "Try doing it a few thousand times. It becomes much less cool."

"Not to mention I told him that if he had his powers he'd have been able to get rid of the bodies with his mind."

"Yup. I can't wait for that. Although I did have a question about something."

"What's that?" asked Sam, settling himself more comfortably around Gabriel who whined and held on even tighter. 

"You mentioned that the grace would fix anything wrong with my body, will it get rid of my tattoos and piercings? Since, you know, they aren't natural?" 

Dean and Sam looked at each other. To Sam's surprise, Dean actually answered. 

"You know, we don't know. What I can tell you is that you can probably maintain them just by directing your grace to leave them alone."

Sam glanced down where he could feel Gabriel's breath on his chest and felt something hitch inside him. Gabriel looked so peaceful and at rest. Sam hated to wake him up. He hated that he was going to have to bring Gabriel back to the life. Right then something changed inside Sam. He vowed to spend the rest of his days making life as easy as possible for Gabriel. 

He was going to love him and give him all the cuddles and snuggles that Gabriel so clearly lacked. He was going to pray to a mostly absent God that Gabriel didn't leave him when he got his powers back. Sure, he'd never been with a guy but the thought of being with Gabriel didn't fill him with trepidation, instead it filled him with elation. It turned Sam on and although he didn't want to take advantage of Gabriel at such a fragile state he'd be lying if he said sex with human Gabriel didn't intrigue him. How would it compare to angel sex, he wondered. Hopefully he'd get the chance to find out. 

"So, do you guys have extra rooms by chance?" Dean asked, turning to see Cas better. 

"No, why? U can't stay at your hotel?"

Dean shook his head. "No, that's not it. It's more like we shouldn't. We don't know if more of them will come. We should be close by in case anything happens."

"Ah, I see. Well in that case, Gabriel can bunk with me if you two want to share his room."

"Hell no, Sammy here kicks in his sleep. Not to mention he starfishes AND he turns cuddly to boot. I do NOT want to wake up with my hands full of Sammy. I might catch his cooties. He and Gabriel have that cuddly shit in common, it seems. They should bunk together." Dean smirked pointedly at Sam who threw him one of his many bitch faces. 

"You're more than welcome to bunk with me, Dean. I have no problem waking up with a handful of Dean, if you know what I mean." Cas's rumbly voice responded. Sam let out a snort. This Cas was so far removed from who the former Cas had been that it was downright comical. He seemed more like what Gabriel used to be, actually. Seemed God had a sense of humor. 

Sam enjoyed the way Dean turned bright red and began to sputter only to stop when Cas put a finger on his lips. "Nope. It's been decided. You, you like snack, are bunking with me. Come, Dean. Let me show you to our room." With that, Cas trailed a finger down Dean's arm, leaving goosebumps Sam could see where he lay, in its wake before grabbing him by the hand and pulling him behind him. 

Left alone with Gabriel, who was beginning to stir, Sam paused to ponder what their lives were to become. For once in his life he had no qualms with looking forward. 

"Are they gone yet?" came Gabriel's sleepy voice.

"Were you awake this whole time?" Sam asked, a smile filling his face. 

"Just caught the end. Poor Dean. Cas is going to eat him alive."

Sam laughed. "I don't know. Dean knows how to handle himself pretty good."

"They'll probably eat each other then. Seems like a match made in heaven. Speaking of heaven, I'm sorry I feel asleep during your story telling. It's been a long day."

"It's ok. I fell asleep too. I guess I could have used a nap. Besides, you were quite comfy."

"So were you, you big moose."

Sam laughed again. 

"You've called me that before, you know."

Gabriel quieted. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens now?"

Sam sighed. This was going to be the hard part. 

"Now we find your grace."

"And if I don't want it?"

Sam brushed the hair out of Gabriel's face gently before lifting his chin up so their eyes could meet. Then Sam just spoke from the heart. "Gabriel, you're so important to this world. Not just heaven, but the world. There's a whole slew of believers out there, people who count on their God and the angels to keep them safe. You didn't want to fight before and you don't want to fight now, I can understand that. But I think that even when you were the archangel Gabriel what you hated was your family fighting. There's nothing that can be done for that and I'm sorry your family got destroyed but you will have one now. You'll have Cas, Dean and me. We won't leave you to fight alone. We'll fight everything that comes our way together. I won't leave you, Gabriel. I promise. If you'll have me, I'll be with you til the end of time."

Gabriel's eyes bore into his. "You promise Sammy?" 

"I promise."

___________________

Cloaked, so that no one could see Him or feel Him, the mostly absent Father nodded to himself. He'd done good. He'd give his sons a week of vacation, of being human with their human counterparts and then He'd give them their graces back. New and improved. It was time for sweet little Cassie to get a promotion anyway. He was down two archangels, soon to be three because His son Raph was a colossal idiot but He'd found the perfect beings to replace them. Hopefully, they'd accept the mantle when He offered it to them. Dispatching the three demons He could sense headed their way He left them to get some much needed peace.


	9. I Was Missing Something. It Was You.

The next morning was filled with four awkward boners...well three, really, because Cas didn't give a shit. He walked around with absolutely no problem with his dick jutting out and he made sure to brush up against Dean a few times until Dean got fed up and grabbed it. Laughter filled the air and the four of them stood stalk still. 

"Uh, Sammy?"

"I don't know, Dean."

"What the fuck was that, Sammy?"

"I said I don't know, Dean!"

"Dean, will you release my dick now?"

"I don't know, are you going to put it away now?"

"Do you really want me to?"

Dean responded by squeezing it, making Cas's breath hitch. 

"We're still in the room, guys." Sam reminded them, sharing an eye roll with Gabriel who was pointedly not looking at his brother's dick. 

"So, Sammy? It's just a dick. Haven't you ever seen a dick?"

"Not Cas's dick, thank you very much and you can't say shit like that. See? That's why those stupid fanfics exist. Because you say stupid shit like that."

"What fanfics?" Gabriel asked, interestedly. Sam shuddered. "There was a prophet of the Lord who didn't know he was a prophet. He was getting visions of our lives and even of the future. He made them into books and sold them. There exists several worlds out there with 'ships' or people's favorite pairings. Because of Dean's propensity for saying dumb shit like he did, we are the most popular pairing." 

Cas and Gabriel stared at them, mouths agape. "Like, together?" Cas finally asked. Dean gave his own shudder and nodded. "Yeah, it's called Wincest." "Speaking of which, there's Destiel and Sastiel too." Sam input.

"Who are they?" Cas asked looking between him and Dean.

"Destiel- the ship name for Dean and Castiel. Sastiel. Sam and Castiel."

"Destiel." Cas said, trying it out. "I like it. Much better than Sastiel, sorry Sam."

Sam smiled at his friend. "No worries. I like reading it from time to time, the Destiel one, not the others, and there's a new ship that I, well, ship."

"Which is?" Gabriel asked, speaking up for the first time in the whole unnerving conversation. 

"Sabriel. Sam and Gabriel."

Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother. "You're such a little bitch, Samantha."

"Go suck a dick, jerk."

"Ooh, I second that motion." Cas quickly interjected, making the others laugh. 

"Seriously though, I'm not crazy, all of you guys heard that laugh, right?" Dean asked. The others nodded. "You think it could be a ghost, Sammy?" 

"Ghost?" Gabriel asked, looking pale. "What doesn't exist?"

"Bigfoot, I think. Loch-ness monster, maybe." Sam answered, looking at Dean for confirmation who nodded but said, "Of course, we didn't think angels existed either so we've been disproved before."

"What introduced you to this world, anyway?" Cas asked Dean, who sighed. "Let's eat first and then we'll talk. I'm hungry. Got any pie?"

"For breakfast? You're as bad as Sam- I mean Gabriel." 

"Hey, don't compare me to that guy." Cas narrowed his eyes at Dean who quickly rectified himself. "Sorry, sorry. I keep forgetting he's not the arch-douche I knew. Speaking of which, do you guys have to work or something? Because I was hoping we could take you and teach you some basic defense moves since we don't know how long it'll be til we find your grace."

Cas looked over at his brother and engaged in some silent conversation that ended with Gabriel sighing and shrugging his shoulders. 

"Well," Cas finally said, "It doesn't make much of a difference if we go or not, huh? If you guys are here and you think our Father, Christ, I still can't get used to that, God is literally my dad, has a hand in it, it's probably pretty damn close to us or we're going to stumble across it one way or another, don't you think? I mean, what do you guys do for money?" 

Dean laughed. "This and that." Cas narrowed his eyes at him. "Well, we're not strippers or anything but basically we hustle pool and play cards."

"...and engage in credit card scams." Inserted Sam, all help like, plastering an innocent face on when Dean sent a glare his way. 

"Credit card scams?" 

"Yeah, well, we have to have them to rent rooms and things of that nature." Dean said defensively, crossing his arms over his shoulders. 

"We have a bunch of fake id's too since we have to pose as FBI, police, CSI, sheriff's and a slew of other things." Sam inserted again, trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Seriously, Sam? Do you want to tell them we have a habit of having to dig up bodies too? Or maybe that we've died multiple times? That we've killed gods, angels and demons alike? That most of our friends are dead because of our fault?" 

The smile slid off Sam's face. He had just been joking with Dean but had forgotten that his brother carried a lot of guilt, as evidenced by their time in the company of Osiris. "I was just trying to give you a hard time, Dean. I didn't mean anything by it." 

Dean threw his hands up and muttered something under his breath about Gabriel already being a bad influence. 

Gabriel's eyebrows went up and he looked at Sam. Sam just smiled at him. He liked this Gabriel. He was so innocent and cute. Sam couldn't wait to corrupt him. 

"You know when you get your powers back I'm going to tease you merciless for this."

"For what?"

"Being all fucking innocent. You're going to be so embarrassed at yourself. I'm loving it already."

Gabriel shrugged. 

A second later a thought crossed Sam's mind and he couldn't help but ask. "Hey Gabe?"

Gabriel looked at him. Sam averted his eyes, a blush covering him from neck to hairline. He didn't want to sound needy but...

"Chances are when you're back to being yourself you're not going to want anything to do with us. You already died once for us. You're going to be pissed that we're in your life again. Do you think that if you make a promise now, you'd be able to keep it?"

Gabriel nodded vigorously. "I promise Sammy."

"I don't want you to leave. Can you promise me now that you won't leave then?"

"You really think I'll retain my memories for the last four years until now?"

Sam nodded. "You're an archangel. No way you're going to forget."

"I promise then Sammy. I promise not to leave."

Unprecedented tears sprung into Sam's eyes. So many people had left him, whether it was by choice or not. He was tired of losing people and he told Gabriel so. "I'm tired of losing people. I just want them to stay. I want to be happy. I want you. I want to love you and be loved by you. But I'm more terrified of this than of anything from the past or the future. You're going to leave and then I'll be alone again."

"I'll be there." Cas interjected, making Sam jump. He'd forgotten Cas was there, having expected him to follow Dean. 

Sam shook his head, sadly. "You'll want to be, maybe, but you've always been Dean's angel. Everyone knew that. You use to call me an abomination. By the time you died, you were tolerant of me but in no way, shape or form, loyal to me like you were Dean. Sometimes all he had to do was look at the ceiling and you'd arrive. Meanwhile when I prayed to you you'd ignore me. You said it was because you and Dean had a 'profound bond'."

Cas eyed him carefully, head tilted, reminiscent of the angel he used to be as Sam continued, "and you're so different from the way you were, getting your grace back? I don't even know what that's going to do to you, Cas. I don't know if you'll turn back into the...the pod person that you used to be or if you'll stay like that. You're actually more like Gabriel now than Gabriel is."

"But if Gabriel is to keep his memories, won't that mean I'll keep mine too?" Again Sam shook his head. "It's easy for me to say he will because of his status. He was an archangel. There's literally nothing he couldn't do." He replied, pulling said archangel into his lap- Gabriel went without hesitation. "But you had more limitations. I don't know what will happen with you. Hey! You know what we should do? You should make a video of yourself now and talk to your angel self, in case you forget anything, you'll have the video to remind you."

Cas nodded. "That's a good idea. Thanks Sam. For what it's worth, if I do remember, I promise to be your friend this time around."

Sam nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Cas."

"No problem. Now let me go find my lumberjack. He should be done brooding by now."

Sam smirked. He hoped Cas remembered. He was really enjoying this version of him. He smiled into Gabriel's hair, inhaling and enjoying his scent, placing gentle kisses along his hairline. 

"Did you like me as an archangel? Was I good?" 

Sam didn't answer for a moment while he considered. Then he responded. 

"You were the best archangel. Michael only wanted to follow an outdate plan of your dads. Lucifer hated humans and rebelled when your dad ordered y'all to love us. That's why he was casted out. Raph just wants power. But you, you were special. You left because of your family but you found your own family down here. You joined the pagans, became a god in your own right. Loki. That's how I met you, you know? First as the Trickster, then Loki, then Gabriel."

"Did you have a favorite version?"

Sam hesitated before replying. "No, Gabe. Everything that you are, everything that you've been, that you've done had made you who you are and I wouldn't trade that for anything."

Gabriel was quiet for a moment and then: "So where can I find these books?"

Sam laughed out loud. "Hell no."

Their moment was interrupted by Cas and Dean coming back, Dean complaining because he still hadn't been fed and Cas making some lewd joke about having a sausage he could eat. Sam laughed again. "That literally used to be you." He told Gabriel who mock shuddered. Sam squeezed him, enjoying the way his small body fit sp perfectly on Sam's lap, curled up into his chest. It caused a tightening in Sam's chest. Gabriel was his. He was going to fight whomever he had to for him. It didn't escape his notice that the only one he'd have to fight for Gabriel was God himself but Sam didn't care. For Gabriel he was willing to go the distance. Gabriel had never had anyone fight for him and Sam was going to change that. Gabriel deserved it. 

_______________

Cloaked, Chuck watched and "heard" Sam, smiling to himself. The little human had gall. He'd make an excellent archangel. The perfect type needed to show the other angels about free will and standing up for yourself. He glanced at Dean, exchanging innuendo with his son, Cas. These two boys had defeated the Apocalypse simply because they said it wouldn't be so and stood by it. Yeah, they would make excellent angels. Chuck couldn't wait to add them to his family. Hopefully, they'd say yes.


	10. He's Everything To Me- Everything I Ever Wanted- Everything I'll Ever Need

Breakfast finally got underway, Cas pulled out eggs, Dean put bacon on a pan, Sam made coffee and went to sit at the table and Gabriel sat on his lap and hugged him. Sam sat there and hugged him back. 

It started out with one soft kiss placed at Gabriel's temple. Then Sam went behind the ear. Then the neck. When he gave it a little bite, Gabriel moved his head back, exposing more of his neck and Sam went to work, nipping, sucking and kissing. 

"Ew! Gross, Sam! Not with short-stack! Not at the kitchen table! My eyes! I need brain bleach!"

"Dean, I literally watched you grab Cas's dick. You didn't hear me complaining, did you? Jerk."

"That doesn't mean I want to watch, bitch. Besides, that's Gabriel. As soon as he remembers his ass is going to bounce away from us so fast it'll make our heads spin. Are you sure about this Sam?" His brother asked, dropping all pretense and asking him seriously, spatula held in one hand. 

"I sure hope he doesn't." Sam said looking between his brother and Gabriel. God, he'd never wanted anything so bad. For a moment he almost prayed that God keep him there but decided against it. He understood free will, hell, he'd fought for free will. He couldn't take Gabriel's away. Sam looked into Gabriel's eyes directly. "I hope you don't."

Gabriel looked into his eyes before turning to Dean. "Would I really do that?" Dean hesitated, glancing at Cas, before answering. "I don't want to be rude or mean or anything but in our experience, yes. You would. If I'm completely honest, you're a lot like me. We don't like feelings. We don't talk about feelings and someone wanting to cuddle us the way Sam is being able to do...well, I'd run the complete opposite way. As fast as I could and as an archangel, your fast, is a hella of a lot faster than mine is. You can go to any place, time, dimension, or universe that you want to. I want you to stay, too. If not for Sam, for Cas. But I don't think you will. I really don't think you will. And Gabe, that's my baby brother. And I'll be left to pick up the pieces. It'll be Jess all over again."

Sam tried to hide his flinch but was unsuccessful because Cas caught it. "Who is Jess?"

Sam looked at Dean then away. He's the one who brought it up, he thought. He should be the one to explain. 

"You asked earlier how we came into the life." Dean started, turning to flip the bacon around as Cas started plating the food, placing sliced up avocado beside the eggs and then pulling salsa out of the fridge. It made Sam's mouth water. It was rare when he got to eat salsa. He loved it although Dean didn't. Any amount of spice was too much for him. 

"When we were very small, our mom was killed by a demon. We grew up with our dad moving us around, hunting down all kinds of monsters, while he searched for the one who had killed her."

"Is he gone now?" Cas asked. Dean stilled then nodded. "I'm sorry." Cas responded, turning to look at both Dean and Sam. 

Sam shrugged. "He wasn't a great dad. We fought a lot."

"Hey!" Dean objected. 

"What, Dean? You used to be dad's perfect soldier. If he were still around you'd still see the world as only black and white. You wouldn't have stopped until you found a way to kill Cas simply for being not human and you think we could ever be with them if he was here?" Sam scoffed. Dean glared at him but Sam didn't much care. 

"Not to mention he was an alcoholic. Rarely left us enough money for food and left us in motels for days on end when we were too fucking small."

"I took care of you, Sam."

"I know Dean. But should you have had to? Think about it, if you had a six year old son, would you leave him alone in a hotel room? Knowing what kind of monsters both human and otherwise are out there?"

Dean shuddered and grudgingly shook his head. "No way in hell." 

"Exactly. I rest my case."

A small smile graced Dean's face. "You'd have made a great lawyer, Sammy."

"Lawyer?" Gabriel piped up. 

Sam sighed. "Maybe we should just get you the books, it'll be faster."

"Hey!" Dean squawked. "Those have me full frontal!" 

Cas laughed. "Ooh, those I have to read. Are they movies?"

Dean and Sam both shuddered. "God no. Don't even say that. When the universe finds a way it can fuck us, it usually does." Sam said. 

"When you say universe you really mean our dad, don't you?" Gabriel asked. 

Again Dean surprised Sam by answering. "Not really. We don't think he's around that much. We really do mean the universe. A while after the Apocalypse, we actually met one of the fate sisters. She was mad because all those people who should have died, didn't. Including us. Or rather, we kept dying but kept getting brought back. Now that is something we think has to do with your dad."

"That's the weirdest type of immortality ever." Cas commented. 

Sam laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. You know, Dean told me when he first met you he tried to stab you with a demon blade, the strongest weapon we had at the time. According to him you didn't even flinch. Just dropped it and smirked. If we could 'die' like that, painless and, you know, not actually die, that'd be great but no, your dad likes to make us feel the pain of dying of getting shot, for example, and all for naught, basically, because he just pulls us back."

__________________

Watching silently, He nodded in agreement with Sam. It was a weird type of immortality and maybe He should leave the boys at peace. They'd already done plenty for the world, after all. But there was something about them. Something even He couldn't figure out. These boys were the best that earth, heaven, and hell had to offer. The best of humanity and something more. The boys loved each other to a degree even His own sons hadn't. Was it really their life that had raised them that way? Or was it something more? Had He actually played a hand there at all? He shook His head at Himself. It couldn't be. He'd been gone for a while. No, they'd done this all on their own. It truly was astounding. 

_________________

After a beat, wherein Dean put bacon on the plates and pulled the toast from the toaster, Cas spoke up again. "So, after you dad what happened?"

"Well, when I was 18, I left. I got a full ride scholarship to Stanford and it had always been my dream to study law so I went. I was there for two years before Dean came around."

"Our dad had disappeared and I was worried." Dean took over the story, handing out the plates. Including syrup, powdered sugar and whipped cream to Gabriel who looked at him in surprise. "What? You had a massive sweet tooth even back then."

"Anyway, I left with Dean to go find him. We didn't but I had an interview, there at Stanford to be accepted into their law program, so I had to get back. I walked in and the shower was running so I figured Jess was in there. I laid on the bed to relax when I felt something drip on my face. When I opened my eyes Jess was on the ceiling and she burned, the same way our mom did. So I left Stanford and went with Dean to go find the monster who had now taken two of the most loved women our family had."

"Are you straight?" Cas asked, looking at him and Gabriel. 

Sam nodded. "I was. But now there's Gabriel and that's ok."

"Just like that?" Cas's eyes narrowed at him. Sam nodded, putting butter on his toast. "Just like that." 

"Hmm." 

"He's not going to hurt your brother, Cas. Sam's not like that. He thinks things through and then makes a decision he'll stick by based on that. If he says he's with short stack over there, then he is. Against my better judgment, of course."

"What about you, Dean?" Cas asked. "Are you also straight?"

"Not really. I mean I've never talked about it and I've never been with a man. I've looked before but never gave it any serious thought until you came around."

"You think it was me you liked or my power?"

Dean shook his head. "I thought it was your power at first. But then I remembered I'd met many male beings with power and hadn't wanted any of them. I think it was you. You were adorable. You didn't know shit about being human, didn't understand many things and it was fun teaching you."

The boys were quiet for a few minutes as they ate before Gabriel spoke up. "You know, that kinda makes sense." 

"Which part?" Sam asked, rubbing some jam off the corner of Gabriel's mouth with his thumb. 

"Even when we arrived here, he was hella awkward. We thought he was simply worse off than I was, in the amnesic part, because he didn't even remember how to brush his teeth or that he needed to eat and I did. In fact, he seemed downright startled when his stomach grumbled. I had to teach him that sound meant hunger."

"That sounds about right." Dean said. "You would have now, you'd already been down on earth for a long time, you picked up being human then, but Cas had no point of reference. Angels don't need to shower, eat, sleep or a whole slew of things." 

"Could we do anything cool?" Gabriel asked. 

Sam laughed. "Besides everything we already mentioned? Um, yeah, you could fly. Literally be anywhere in the world you wanted within seconds. You could snap and materialize anything you wanted out of thin air. You turned me into a car, you know. You could heal, bring people back from the dead, kill them with a thought, handy when it came to demons, lots of things."

"What could I do?" Cas asked, pushing his plate away from him. 

"I don't know. You didn't tell us much about yourself. Shorty over there didn't either but he was prone to showing off his powers a lot more so that's where we kinda picked up what he could do." 

"You could also create pocket dimensions. That's where your dog is." Sam added. 

"What is that, exactly?" 

"It's like a place between worlds. A place you can access but no one else can."

"Between worlds, huh? Does that mean aliens are also real?"

"I don't know. I asked once but you refused to tell me."

By this point everyone was done eating and Dean got up and started taking the plates over to the sink. 

"Thanks for the food, guys." Sam told Cas and Dean who waved away his thanks. "No problem, Sammy. You kinda had your hands full after all." Dean smirked. 

Sam glanced down at Gabriel who'd somehow found his way onto his lap once more. Sam wrapped him in a hug. "I've got to take it where I can get it. I really don't know what he's going to do when we find his grace."

"I told you I'd stay." Gabriel stated, voice muffled from where he had it in Sam's neck. 

"I know." Sam stated quietly. "It's just that, well, you really really didn't like us before. You accused us of breaking the world." 

"Why?" Cas asked sitting back down with a cup of coffee. 

"Because we kinda did." Sam said sadly. "I'm the one who let Lucifer out of the box."

"I think we're missing something here." Cas said, drily. 

"I'll give it to you in a nutshell and then if you want elaboration, Sam here can do so." 

"Okay, hit me."

"In the beginning, as we told you we were predestined to become Michael and Lucifer incarnate. Our lives were led to one goal, becoming vessels for them. So Sam here was supposed to die, I was supposed to go to a demon to make a deal and I was supposed to go to hell. I did all of that. The demon offered me one year in return for Sam's life and I took the deal. When the time was almost up for me, Gabriel here stuck Sam in a time loop, reliving each day as Tuesday and every day I died. It was supposed to be so that Sam could learn how to live without me once I was gone but Sam didn't learn so Gabriel returned me. Once I was hauled off to hell, a demon became Sam's friend, pretending that she was trying to help and she got him addicted to demon blood. See, when our mom was killed it was because she was trying to save Sam from a demon who was putting demon blood down his throat. The demon blood gave Sammy powers, not right away, but they materialized around the time I went to hell. With the demon blood he became stronger. That's what Gabe was trying to prevent, he just had a lousy way of telling us. He should have just told us instead of going about it the way he did. Anyway, the angels did their best at separating us and it sorta worked. I was working with Cas and Sam was still working with that demon bitch, Ruby. It'll all came down to head when Ruby had Sam kill the bitch who owned my hell contract, Lilith. The thing we didn't find out until Cas rebelled and told me the truth was that Ruby was working on Lucifer's side. She was working for Lilith and Lilith was the final seal that needed to break in order for Lucifer to be released."

"Final seal. What's that?" Cas asked. Dean waved it away and said, "That's my nutshell. Any follow-up questions you have, ask Sam."

The ex-angels had plenty of questions so while Dean sipped his coffee quietly, Sam went into more detail, explaining even why Dean had to go to hell, his status as a Righteous Man (Cas turned and lifted a brow at him, asking him what sorts of things could corrupt a Righteous Man. Dean coughed and turned red. Cas smirked). 

It was almost noon by the time Sam was done, his legs long since gone numb, both from sitting in one spot and Gabriel being on them. 

"Well, as awesome as rehashing all this shit has been we need to move. We need to do something. I need to shoot something. How about that ghost, Sammy? The one we heard laughing here earlier?"

Sam turned to Cas. "Have y'all heard laughter like that here before?" Cas shook his head. "Nothing weird has ever happened here. It's probably y'all since you said bad news follows you around."

Dean frowned, contemplative before agreeing. "You're probably right. But ghosts can't move around like that, they are usually tied to something. I'm sure there's a few things that can cloak themselves but the ones we primarily know of are angels." Dean and Sam both stiffened as they came upon that realization. 

"Sam?" Dean asked quietly. 

"Yeah, Dean. It's in the car." 

"Let's all go out, ok? I don't want to be here if they decide to uncloak themselves."

"What's happening?" Cas asked. 

"We have a few angel blades, the only thing that can kill one, one of them is yours by the way, but they are out in the car. We're going to go get them and you're coming with us because we don't want anything to take you while we're not here."

"Do you have mine too? Did I have one?"

Sam shook his head. "Hell yeah, you had one. An archangel blade. It was beautiful but no we don't have it. That thing is powerful. Chances are you hid it before you died. As you said once before, you can't just have that thing out, it could kill you." Gabriel laughed a small laugh but it sounded precious to Sam regardless. But thinking about it reminded him of Gabriel's real loud and boisterous laughter and he'd be lying if he said he couldn't wait to hear that one again. That one sounded more sure, more worthy of a being that could have the world at his feet with a thought.

It seemed like Gabriel was thinking along the same thoughts as he followed Sam out. 

"Totally cliched Sam but I hope you never ask me for the world."

"Why?" Sam asked, knowing exactly where this was headed but unable to stop himself. 

"Because then where would earth be when I conquered it and laid it at your feet?"

 

_____________

 

He heard His son. And for the first time in several millennia, a tear escaped His human vessel and slid down His cheek.


End file.
